Generally, laundry machines include a washing machine and a drying machine. The washing machine is a machine that is capable of removing contaminants from laundry using detergent and washing water. The drying machine is a machine that is capable of drying laundry to be dried, i.e., washed laundry, using hot air.
A drum type washing machine is a kind of washing machine which has been widely used in recent years. The drum type washing machine performs a washing operation using friction between a drum, which is rotated by a driving force of a motor, and laundry put in the drum under the condition that detergent and washing water are also put in the drum. The drum type washing machine has various effects in that damage to the laundry is minimized, the laundry is not entangled, and the laundry is struck and ribbed.
Also, there is a drum type washing-and-drying machine that is capable of performing a washing operation of laundry in the same manner as the drum type washing machine and, furthermore, even drying the washed laundry.
The drum type washing-and-drying machine supplies air into the drum through a drying duct having a drying heater and a blowing fan to perform a drying operation of the laundry.
However, the conventional drum type washing machine or the conventional drum type washing-and-drying machine has the following problems.
First, an amount of washing water consumed is very large when a soaking process is carried cut before the washing operation.
That is to say, the laundry must be soaked using only the washing water, and therefore, a large amount of washing water is needed.
Secondly, an additional structure for sterilizing the laundry is not provided.
Of course, although not shown, there has been proposed, in recent years, a washing machine including an additional heater for heating washing water such that laundry can be boiled. In this case, however, the sterilization of the laundry is accomplished only by the boiling operation. As a result, an amount of washing water and power necessary to boil the laundry is greatly increased.
Thirdly, the laundry is excessively wrinkled during the washing operation, and therefore, an additional manual operation, i.e., ironing of the laundry, is required, which is inconvenient.
Especially when the drying operation of the laundry is performed in the drum, although the laundry has many wrinkles, it is more difficult to iron the wrinkled laundry. This problem is a cause of many complaints from consumers.